I really don't know quite what to think of this post by Kate. In it she expresses her views on receiving emails that are either too long or too personal to have been sent to someone you know only from a blog. The only real criticism I have with the post is that she uses the pronoun us quite a bit, and I'm not sure exactly what group she is speaking for. If you replace the plural pronouns with singular ones then the post, while making me very uncomfortable and a little confused, is still a clear statement of her opinions about email. I can't find any fault with her choosing to use her website to make her opinions known.
Adobe Premiere ftpIt is ironic that I had a link to this post emailed to me. I'm not sure if that means it was directed to some degree at me, or if she just wanted me to read it. I have exchanged emails with Kate in the past, and some of them contained personal information as well as blogging information. While our emails have always been friendly, I wouldn't consider us friends since clearly we don't know each other. I wouldn't have thought my emails to her contained too much familiarity, but I can't be sure.
Obviously, my views on email are polar opposites to hers. I get very little email from readers, but I love it when I do. My blog is personal. It's about my life, and when I talk about politics or news or anything else, I'm talking about how those things impact my life. Because it is personal, I would expect readers to feel welcome to send me emails that are as personal as they feel comfortable making them. While I don't get nearly the hits or comments that Michele does, my views on email are much more in line with hers. I really can't envision a day when I would feel like I'd gotten too much email or an email that was too long for me to enjoy reading it.
I think it's interesting to point out that there is a contridiction in many of Kate's posts. On the one hand, she encourages linking her, and even makes the point that the best way to a blogger's (presumably hers) heart is through her hit counter, and at the same time, she says in many of her posts she doesn't care if people like what she says. Her blog isn't written for anyone else. I think that while she wants to not care if people like what she has to say, and she certainly isn't going to change her views to accomidate anyone, it's clear she wants people to read her blog and the best way for that to happen is for them to like what she has to say.
All of that said, I've enjoyed reading Electric Venom from the very first time I found it. As I've become more and more busy, it's been the only blog that I read every day. That's still true. It isn't because of my opinion of Kate as a person or because of any desire to strike up any kind of relationship with her through email. It is simply because I enjoy her writing and I like the way she expresses her opinions whether I agree with them or not. I will admit, though, I will be more hesitant about sending her emails in the future, which may be what she'd hoped to accomplish.
In today's Bleat, Lileks has really out done himself. He not only used several words I'd never heard of, but he managed to say the rocks are covered in weeds and get it on with the town slut and make both sound poetic.
Flox - a flowering plant that is barely more than a weed by the looks of the pictures I found.
Cosset - To treat as a pet or fondle.
So the phrase "flox cossets the rocks on the neighbor’s front lawn" means that there are little purple flowers "cuddling" the rocks.
Doxy - A sexually promiscuous woman.
So the phrase "if you had some mad happy spasm at the end of the month with the top town doxy in Trollwood Park, 1975 was the SUMMER OF LOVE" means if you got lucky with the town slut, then it was worth all the trouble..